For their high energy density per unit weight, alkaline batteries have widely been used as power sources of portable electronic devices which have rapidly been spread in recent years. Today, there are various alkaline batteries different in grades and price ranges adapted to different devices and applications, including regular alkaline batteries having a good discharge characteristic under a light load suitable for devices such as handheld game machines, high-performance alkaline batteries having a good discharge characteristic under a heavy load suitable for devices such as digital still cameras, and high-quality and high-performance alkaline batteries having a good discharge characteristic in a wide range from a high current to a low current.
For the purpose of improving the performance of the alkaline batteries, various improvements have been done, e.g., by increasing the amount and specific surface area of an active material, or by increasing the amount of an electrolyte absorbed in a material mixture containing the active material (e.g., see Patent Documents 1 and 2).    [Patent Document 1] Published Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-163003    [Patent Document 2] Published Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-106176